By Zainab Ali
Finance State Minister David Bahati has laid whopping Shs910Bn supplementary expenditure request before Parliament’s Committee on Budget, which among others include a Shs60Bn request to procure CCTV cameras for Police.
Of this supplementary request, Shs419b has already been spent, but is now before Parliament for retrospective approval as provided in Section 25(1) of the Public Finance Management Act.
The Act allows government to spend up to 3 per cent of the total approved budget, and table a request for retrospective approval within four months.
The remaining Shs481b is, however, above the 3 per cent provision and therefore require prior approval by Parliament.
“The Ministry appears to have surpassed the 3 per cent request and this needs prior approval by Parliament,” said Hon. Amos Lugoloobi, the Committee Chairperson.
The move is a follow up of President Museveni’s promise to procure CCTV cameras to fight crime in the wake of runaway criminality in the city, which saw the reorganization of the security services by the appointment of new Inspector General of Police Okoth Ochola and Security Minister Gen. Elly Tumwiine.
MP Muhammad Kivumbi (DP, Butambala), who is opposed to the request, said the source of funds must be declared.
“The law requires that they show us the source of funding before they proceed. Are they cutting money from other sectors?” said Kivumbi.
Minister Bahati said the funds are to be obtained through domestic borrowing, a practice where government gets funds from local commercial banks.
MPs, however, declined to entertain the request, saying they need to obtain clearance from the Committee on National Economy on whether the domestic loan request will be approved.
